Back Pain? Visit Orem Chiropractor & Save Money!

As we enter a brave new world of government sponsored health care with politicians and insurers trying to find a way to lower health care expenditures, take a look at what this research says about chiropractors and cost savings.

The Mercer Health and Benefits group did a cost analysis of chiropractic care for low back pain and this is what they found.

When Orem chiropractic care is added to a health benefit plan, the total cost increase of the plan per patient per year increases by only $75.  This is highly cost effective care because it represents a good value in comparison to medical care and to widely accepted cost-effectiveness thresholds.

Low back pain is a common condition and chiropractic care is well established as the treatment of choice for people suffering from low back pain.

When you add chiropractic care to a health insurance plan, the total cost per patient every year only increases by $75.  For neck pain, it actually costs less by $302, incidentally.

Orem chiropractic care is shown to produce better pain and disability outcomes for low back pain, and is shown to be more satisfying to patients when surveyed by satisfaction rates.  This small increase doesn’t even take into account that the researchers didn’t add the costs of pharmaceutical drugs to the health care bill, so their numbers may be conservative.

Chiropractic care is a drug free approach to Orem back pain relief.  Chiropractic care consists mainly of spinal adjustments, but also includes strengthening exercises, massage, stretches, nutritional therapy, oxygen therapy and a variety of joint, muscle and nerve therapies.

Because chiropractic is drug free, there are no side effects either.

When chiropractic was included in health plans, the amount in-patient hospitalizations, imaging studies, hospitalization, surgical procedures were all reduced.  This is significant because these are the very things that drive health care costs up so high.  

Here is another, very interesting, fact that researchers discovered.  Paying the chiropractor more didn’t really affect cost savings.  In fact, during the research it was found that paying the chiropractor $40 an office visit produced a $300 annual savings.  Now the cool part (I’ll admit I’m biased) is that when they paid the chiropractor $100 an office visit there was a $294 annual savings.

So, if policy makers want to reduce costs they should be very interested in adding Orem chiropractors to the system and paying them well.

Orem Chiropractor Asks, “How Does Chiropractic Affect Health Care Costs?”

Is chiropractic care worth the cost for treatment?  A couple of years ago, researchers wanted to know the answer to this question, so they created a clinical trial that put chiropractors in the role of primary care physicians. 

They looked at the costs and the use of services for three years. The services that they looked at included in-hospital admissions, pharmaceutical costs and outpatient surgeries.

With chiropractors directing care, all of these costs were dramatically reduced.  For three more years, the researchers analyzed the data looking at patient satisfaction.  The patient surveys showed a greater than 90% satisfaction rate. 

The complete seven-year study showed the following:

Decreased hospital admissions by 60%

Decreased hospital stays by 59%

Decreased out-patient surgeries by 62%

Decreased pharmaceutical costs by 85%

Another study has looked at not only cost, but tied that in with need for surgery.

Researchers found that patients who received chiropractic had lower total health care costs and were less likely to have surgery than demographically similar patients who did not receive chiropractic, and overall, 89 percent of all patients receiving chiropractic care reported improvement of at least 30 percent within 30 days.

This is significant for those looking for Orem Sciatica Treatment because back surgery fails 74% of the time.  In fact, back surgery fails so often it has a name “failed back surgery syndrome.”  It is described as intractable pain and varying degrees of incapacitation occurring after spine surgery.

So here are the facts:

As your Orem Chiropractor I can help you save you money on health care expenses.  Figures have suggested around $30,000.00 over the course of your lifetime, simply by using chiropractic.

Orem back pain is costly not only in dollars for surgeries but also in quality of life lost.

Not only can I help you save money on dollars spent, but according to the research and my own clinical experience I can help you get the best results with your back pain.  Better results with less cost.  

Learn more at AskDrNed.com 

Orem Chiropractor - Supplements To Help End Fibromyalgia and Other Chronic Diseases

This article is the final of four articles on how you can decrease pain and inflammation and minimize your risk for chronic disease through your diet.

In this article we’re going to talk about the role supplements should play in this process.

There is a lot of science behind what we’ve previously discussed about diet and inflammation.  The same does not hold true for supplements.  Every year there is a new, magical supplement that will save the world.  In most cases when they work, it is by placebo mechanisms.  We’re going to discuss supplements that have a known anti-inflammatory effect.

Pathology text books now tells us that disease is promoted by a reduction in ATP synthesis, an increase in free-radical generation, and a state of chronic inflammation created by excessive production of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, cytokines and growth factors.

With this in mind we want to take supplements that counteract these processes.

Magnesium, coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, acetyl-L-carnitine, and the nutrients in a multivitamin/mineral are involved in ATP synthesis and the reduction of free radicals. Fish oil, borage oil, and vitamin D supplementation help to reduce the expression of chronic inflammation.

Supplementation with garlic, ginger, turmeric, and boswellia, are also beneficial, as they function as natural anti-inflammatory agents.

Minimally, I would recommend taking at least a multivitamin/mineral, magnesium, and fish oil. 

For people on multiple medications and especially for those taking coumadin, it is important to make sure there are no inappropriate interactions. Several texts discuss drug-nutrient interactions; this information is available on a number of Web sites, such as www.medlineplus.com.

Please understand there are no specific conditions that alert us to the need for these supplements. They should be recommended and taken for the purpose of reducing the expression of the chronic inflammatory state. With this in mind, I have seen numerous pro-inflammatory conditions improve, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, depression, fatigue, psoriasis, eczema, obstructive sleep apnea, radicular pain, and joint & muscle pain.

To read more about the supplements you should be taking and the amounts go here.


Go to the official website of Orem Fibromyalgia Doctor - R. Ned McArthur, D.C. to learn more about ending your chronic health condition.

Orem Chiropractor Ending Fibromyalgia and Other Chronic Diseases

As your Orem Chiropractor, I have made it my mission to end pain, particularly those with on going back pain, neck pain, dizziness, fibromyalgia, headaches, insomnia, numbness, restless leg syndrome and sciatica.

As I research these and other conditions one thing I’ve discovered is the genetic predisposition that some people have towards these conditions.  Meaning that some people are more likely to develop headaches than others, just because of the way they are wired.

The other thing I’ve learned about genetics is that a lot of our genetics are NOT hard wired.  Meaning just because I have a genetic make up that makes me more likely to have fibromyalgia doesn’t mean I’ll have fibromyalgia.

 We’re all predisposed to chronic disease.  The chronic disease that we have a weakness towards is likely to be the cause of our demise, if we pursue it with poor lifestyle choices.

Think of it like this, imagine you’re wearing a wristwatch and a long sleeve shirt and that shirt covers the watch.  Our genes are the watch and it remains covered by our shirt until we lift our sleeve up.  Poor lifestyle choices lift our shirtsleeve up, exposing our genetic weakness, allowing it to go into action.

Through our lifestyle we can either “pursue” or “prevent” the expression of our genetic weakness. 

What this means is that you may have a genetic predisposition to heart disease.  Does that mean you’ll have a heart attack?  The great thing is you get to decide by your choices.

Diet and exercise seem to be the most important factors to preventing disease expression.  When we eat an inflammatory diet and live a sedentary lifestyle, we are choosing to activate our personal chronic condition, and over time we will discover what our genetic weakness is when we develop that disease.

What lifestyle choices can help us “prevent” disease expression?  Chiropractic care.  You can read more on that subject here.

That's not the part I want to focus on though.  I want to focus on the things you should be doing on your own to "prevent" disease expression.

Evidence suggests we need to eat more fruit, vegetables, and omega-3 animal products (i.e., eggs, meat, fish, poultry, and wild game). We also can add raw nuts, and if you want a starch, potatoes are the best choice.

 Refined sugar, grains, soy, beans, and dairy are not recommended as primary sources of energy, and they are not comparable to fruits, vegetables, and nuts when it comes to nutritional density and phytonutrient content. And we know that lectins and other components of grains and beans make them a pro-inflammatory food.

Diet cannot get any simpler than this.  It's just a matter of whether we are going to do it.

It is important to accept the fact that chronic, subclinical inflammation is the driver of most, if not all, chronic diseases. It is a fact that the same basic inflammatory state underlies heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and most other conditions.

In the next post we'll discuss how using the right dietary supplements can help you to "prevent" chronic disease.           

Orem Chiropractor - Nutritional Adjustment to Pain & Inflammation

Many people come to my office - Orem Chiropractor - R. Ned McArthur, D.C., looking for relief from back pain, neck pain, headaches, etc.  I also find that many people take some kind of anti inflammatory, even though they would rather not.

A British study in the journal Pain reviewed 49 randomized, controlled trials with data on gastric or duodenal ulcer, ulcer hemorrhage or perforation, and death attributable to NSAID (aspirin, ibuprofen & acetaminophen) use. 


The authors estimated that one in 1,200 patients taking NSAIDs for at least two months died from gastroduodenal complications. They also estimated that 2,000 people in the United Kingdom die each year from gastroduodenal lesions who would not have died if they were not taking NSAIDs.


They note that their results "strongly" suggest that chronic oral NSAIDs pose a high risk of adverse effects and urge that "patients receive minimum effective doses for the minimum possible time."


Always ask your doctor about the potential risks of any medications you may be taking.

Inflammation producing pain is a pretty easy concept for most of us to understand.  But did you know that most chronic health conditions are also related to inflammation? An example of this would be Alzheimer’s disease.

As it turns out, about 4% of elderly people in India end up with Alzheimer’s disease, while almost 16% of America’s elderly do.

A researcher from UCLA, Dr. Frautschy, suggests that the liberal intake of the spice turmeric may be the reason for this significant difference.  Tumeric is both a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that is capable of inhibiting prostaglandins and other pro inflammatory substances.

Dr Frautschy has also suggested that Ginger may be even more potent than turmeric.  Ginger has also proven to be effective in eliminating prostaglandins, as well as the pain from osteo and rheumatoid arthritis.

Taken properly ginger can be an effective pain & inflammation reducer.  When taken long term it can be a  “nutritional adjustment” to prevent chronic inflammatory conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.


By combining a nutritional approach with my Brain Based Chiropractic methods & procedures I've been a go to Orem fibromyalgia doctor, as well as being a leading Orem back doctor.


Since coming to see Dr McArthur I've become more energetic and pain free.  I"ve begun going to the gym and have lost a little weight.  I've also been motivated to start a healthy diet and do more than sit on the couch.  It's been wonderful.  Jessica M.  Orem, UT

Orem Chiropractor Discusses Foods To Improve Your Love Life

Continuing to take inspiration from Valentines Day I came up with
a list of foods that very well may affect hormone levels, energy, brain chemistry and arousal.  I'll be the first to admit that there is little to no
research backing the claims of these foods, many people have reported the aphrodisiac affects of eating these foods.  


1.  Asparagus which is rich in vitamins B6 and B9 (pyridoxine and folate) both of which can boost arousal.  It also high in vitamin E which stimulates sex hormones in both men and women.


2.  Avocados are loaded with vitamin B6, minerals and monounsaturated fats both of which are vital for energy production and libido.  Avocados are also a great source of Omega -3 fats.


3.  Chili Peppers can spice up your love life due to capsaicin which has been shown to promote the release of endorphins in the brain.


4.  Chocolate  and love have long been associated, probably because of tryptophan which is a precursor to the feel good brain chemical serotonin which contributes to arousal.


5.  Licorice is thought to mimic the affects of estrogen and progesterone which are critical to sexual function in women.  It helps women get in the mood and stay that way longer.  It may even reduce the PMS symptoms as well.  For this to be effective though, if can't be any licorice flavored candy, it needs to be real licorice root extract.


6.  Oysters  are high in zinc which helps the body produce testosterone which is important to libido and sexual function in both men and women.  

7 Reasons To Love Orem Chiropractor - R. Ned McArthur, D.C.

Inspired by Valentines Day, I came up with:

7 Reasons To

Orem Chiropractor - 

R. Ned McArthur, D.C.

7.  When I say "hands - on - care" I really mean it.  Human to human contact has been proven to be vital in the healing process.  With me you'll get (mostly) warm hands and a caring heart.

6.  I'm in tune with you and your health.  Have you ever noticed that many times I know something about your health and well being before you even mention it?  Maybe I'm the Harry Houdini of healthcare?

5.  D.C. stands for Doctor of Cause. Well, not really but as much as I'm interested in helping you relieve your symptoms, whether they be back pain, or headaches or car accident injuries, I'm more interested in helping you correct the cause of your symptom.

4.  One of the happiest people you'll ever meet.  What are some of the words you've heard me describe my day?  Amazing, awesome, fantastic, wonderful, outstanding.  Is it for some reason?  No.  I've just made the choice to be happy.  Want to be healthy & happy?  Associate with healthy & happy people.

3.  It's cost effective.  Research into cost effectiveness of chiropractic suggests that those you regularly use chiropractic can save as much as 12% in health care expenses over their lifetime.  For the average American that's almost $30,000.

2.  I acknowledge that we're a team.  I acknowledge the fact that you're doing all the healing.  I'm just showing you how to do it.  You're the real star here.

1.  I'll help you get the most out of life.  Referring to #5 above.  I'm very interested in helping you correct the cause of your problem, but even more that  I'm the most interested in helping you live the life you want to live.  What do you want to accomplish? I'll do what I can to help you achieve it.

Orem chiropractor Orem back doctor  Orem car accident injuries  

Orem Chiropractor Helps You Achieve Wellness Part 2

In part two of Achieving Wellness let's first distinguish the difference between traditional medical care and the Wellness Lifestyle.

When ever I have this discussion, and I've had it many times, I have found it important to point out that I am NOT anti medicine.  I've had the need for medical care recently and it served me well.  Medicine saves lives everyday (everything from car accident injuries to infections) and the world is a better place because of the many fine physicians, who selflessly serve their patients.

The thing that I'm against is medicine being described as "healthcare" because in most instances medicine does not seek to make one healthier, it seeks to relieve suffering, kill an infection or stop a faulty process in the body.  Those aren't bad, they just aren't health - they're disease avoidance.

If there is a fault to the modern medicine paradigm it's that rarely (in my experience) does it ever address lifestyle issues that have caused or contributed to the problem.  As your Orem Chiropractor I believe that is one of my duties - point out outside influences and their potential affect on your health and well being.

Top 5 Truths about Wellness.  (Imagine these as a count down with a drum roll before each one for dramatic affect.)

5.  Symptoms, like back pain or headaches,  are not the problem - they are a sign that there is a problem.
4.  The body has an inborn ability to heal itself
3.  Stressors, whether they be physical, chemical or emotional, when they exceed our capacity limit our ability
     to heal and be healthy.
2.  Wellness focuses on improving function rather than hiding symptoms.
1.  Chiropractic is the foundation to a Wellness Lifestyle

Watch this short video from my chiropractor friend, Dr Andre Broussard, on maintenance or wellness chiropractic adjustments.

Orem Chiropractor - Forward Head Posture = Headaches, Neck & Back Pain

As your Orem Chiropractor, here’s a fun little experiment to try.  Get something that weighs about 10 pounds and you can easily hold in your hand – like a 10-pound weight. 

We’re using a 10-pound weight because that’s the average weight of the adult head.  Now hold that weight with your fist towards the ceiling.  Now bend your wrist backwards.  (Don’t do this experiment if you have hand or wrist problems)  With your wrist bent back you are mimicking the natural curve of your neck.  Get a sense for what the feels like. 

Now take the curve away by holding your arm and wrist perfectly vertical.  Get a sense of how that feels.  Now slowly move your hand forward and elbow backwards.  How does that feel compared to when you were holding the weight with your wrist bent backwards?  Not very good, I’m sure. 

According to Dr. Kapandji in his book Physiology of the Joint, Volume III, for every inch your head moves forwards, it add 10 pounds of stress and tension to the muscle of your neck and upper back. 

Now back to our experiment.  The weight represents your head and your forearm represents your spine.  After doing our little experiment with the weight I’m sure you can understand how much harder the muscles in your neck and upper back have to work when your head is in this abnormal posture. 

This condition is called “Forward Head Posture.”  People with this condition lose the normal curve of their neck and the head moves out in front of the neck and shoulders.

Another consequence is the suboccipital muscles (muscles just below your skull in the back of your head) become extremely tight, which puts pressure on the three suboccipital nerves.  This can result in headaches felt in the base of the skull and in the sinus area in the front of your head.

Rene Cailliet M.D., famous medical author and former director of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Southern California states:

“Head in forward posture can add up to thirty pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine. This can pull the entire spine out of alignment. Forward head posture (FHP) may result in the loss of 30% of vital lung capacity. These breath-related effects are primarily due to the loss of the cervical lordosis, which blocks the action of the hyoid muscles, especially the inferior hyoid responsible for helping lift the first rib during inhalation.”

As an Orem Chiropractor, it's not uncommon to observe 2" of anterior head placement.  Would you be surprised that your neck and shoulders hurt if you had a 20-pound watermelon hanging around your neck?  

Forward head posture is also known as hyperkyphotic posture and can also lead to an upper thoracic hump.  Those with forward head posture (FHP) have also been shown to have a 1.44 greater rate of mortality.

After visiting with Dr McArthur I soon discovered that these headaches I was having, from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed, could be solved with chiropractic care.  I really enjoyed how the doctor sat and listened to me and really wanted to help me. He told the truth.  I had been having these headaches for months and was always taking pills.  Since beginning my care I am so much more alert, I have more energy, I’m not taking a lot of pills and I don’t snap at anyone anymore either because I am not in the constant pain that I use to be in.  I would recommend Dr McArthur to others because he has helped me so much and I really feel better.  Others deserve that.  I also enjoy all of the energy that Dr McArthur and the office staff has.  They are always happy and eager to help you, definitely great customer service.  Karyn H., Orem

Orem Chiropractor – R. Ned McArthur, D.C. has proven track record in bringing relief and correction to those who experience forward head posture.

Orem Chiropractor - R. Ned McArthur, D.C. "Does A Body Good"

This title is a play on an advertising campaign the dairy industry did years ago.  Here’s why I think chiropractic is better at “Doing A Body Good.”

Reason number one – flexibility.  Flexibility means joints of the body have as much mobility as possible.  The joints of your joints have a poor blood supply because if there were blood vessels in the joints, they would be crushed, or collapsed every time you moved or put pressure on them. Think of your joints like a sponge.  They absorb nutrients from fluids all around the joint and being able to absorb the nutrients is dependent upon movement.  So, joints get nutrients not from blood, but from movement. Chiropractic care corrects and maintains proper joint movement. If a joint stops moving, the fluids become stagnant and the discs of your spine are unable to absorb nutrients leading to break down.

Joints receive nutrients with movement.  So when you are flexible your joints receive their needed nutrients making them last longer, feel better, and lest vulnerable to injury.  Your Orem Chiropractor – R. Ned McArthur, D.C. helps you achieve this with stretching, exercises, therapy and adjustments.  Many people notice an almost instant result after an adjustment feeling joints “move into place.”

Also, with more flexibility from chiropractic, the nerve sensors in your joints are more active.  This helps the brain control and maintain all of the different bodily structures and functions, including muscles. 

Reason number two - better muscle coordination.  Due to the increased activity in the nerve sensors in joints after an adjustment your muscle coordination and control increases.  This means that you’ll be less likely to injure yourself, whether you are playing sports, playing with your kids, or playing with your housework.

When the brain detects that joint motion isn’t as it should be muscles go into spasm to protect the joint.  In the short term it’s a good thing.  If the joint motion isn’t corrected the muscle will stay in spasm and lead to further loss of flexibility, which leads to joint decay, pain, and other health problems.  As stated above, restoring normal joint mechanics with chiropractic adjustments will help the normal muscle programming.

As an example, a simple test to perform to check the function of your back muscles is called the “modified Trendelenburg” test.  Do this yourself by standing and then lifting one knee and foot as though you were stepping up onto a giant box.  If you feel shaking, your low back muscles are having a difficult time controlling or protecting the joints of your back and if it hasn’t already, it may lead to injury or back problems in the future.

Clinically, this can be corrected with a course of Brain Based Chiropractic methods and procedures that are unique to the office of Orem Chiropractor – R. Ned McArthur, D.C

Reason number three – better balance.  As stated earlier chiropractic adjustments increase the activity of nerve sensors in the joints.  The nerves from the joints then travel to several different destinations in the brain.  One is called the cerebellum.  Another is the vestibular nuclei.  These two areas of the brain are highly involved in balance, coordination and body position awareness. The muscles and joints of the neck have the most direct influence on these two areas of the brain.  Therefore, when there is a problem in the neck many problems can result, but one of the most severe is a dizziness, balance and coordination problem.   

With a proper care plan of Brain Based Chiropractic, Orem Chiropractor – R. Ned McArthur, D.C. can help you have more flexibility, better muscle coordination and better balance.  These results will not only give you less pain and better health, but a better lifestyle.  If you haven’t already give us a try and you’ll discover why chiropractic “does a body good.”

The main reason I began seeing Dr McArthur was for my neck pain, dizziness, and headaches.  It was affecting my studies and my social life.  I couldn’t do things with out feeling pain and getting dizzy.  I coldn’t sit in class or church.  Since I began treatment I can play sports and concentrate in school.  Dr McArthur is a casual guy that’s down to earth.

Steve M., Orem

Orem Chiropractor - R. Ned McArthur, D.C. Discusses Back Pain & Disc Bulges

Do Disc Bulges Cause Back Pain?

Based on the common belief that a disc bulge causes back and leg pain I found the following article very interesting. “Prevalence of Disc Herniation in the Asymptomatic Population: A Compilation.”

The following table shows different researchers on the far left and the percentages at which they found false positives for different conditions. One of things that makes this study and this chart particularly interesting is that absolutely none of the people involved had low back pain or leg / sciatica pain.

To aid in your understanding of the table here are some definitions

Disc Protrusion (B)

Commonly called a disc bulge, a disc protrusion occurs with the spinal disc and the associated ligaments remain in tact, but form an out-pouching that can press against the nerves.

Disc Extrusion (C)

A disc extrusion occurs when the outer part of the spinal disc ruptures, allowing the inner, gelatinous part of the disc to squeeze out. Disc extrusions can occur with the ligaments in tact, or damaged.

Disc Sequestration (D)

A disc sequestration occurs when the center, gelatinous portion of the disc is not only squeezed out, but also separated from the main part of the disc.

False Positive Rates for Lumbar MRI
Investigation:	Disc Bulge	Disc Protrusion	Disc Extrusion	Disc Pathology (Bulge, Protrusion,extrusion, sequestration)	Root Deviation or Compression
Boden et al.		20%		NA
Jensen et al.	52%	27%	1%	64%
Boos et al.*		63%	13%		4%
Greenberg et al.	39%	18%		57%
Weishaupt et al.	24%	40%	18%		4%
Wood et al (11)*	53%	37%		63%
*	Because these investigation used a 'high risk' asymptomatic groups of people, i.e., people whose occupation required frequent heavy lifting, twisting, and bending; frequent exposure to vibration; and sedimentary occupations, I have EXCLUDED the results from the averaging below.
AVERAGES:	38%	29%	9.5%	60.5%	4%

Here's the bottom line: If we we’re to gather a group of middle-age folks (45 average age) who have NEVER had back pain before and perform MRI scans on them all, here's what we would find: 38% would have disc bulges, 29% would have disc protrusions, 10% would have disc extrusions, 0% would have disc sequestrations and 4% would have nerve root compression by the disc herniation. A more shocking statistic is that 60% of asymptomatic middle aged people would have findings of disc bulge or worse (protrusion, extrusion) on MRI!


Read what others have said about Dr Ned here.

Diet & Pain

The foods we eat are nothing more than fuel for our body. With that in mind, if you put bad fuel into your car how does it work? Not so well. If you put bad fuel into your body how does your body work? You get the idea.

There are more ideas on what constitues a healthy diet than I care to even think about. Because of that fact many people ask "what should I eat? What should I NOT eat? What supplements should I take?

What should you eat?
All fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, meats (grass fed beef is best), eggs, organic dairy products, nuts (almonds are best), seeds, olive and coconut oils.

What Should you NOT Eat?
Sugar, flour, white rice, baked goods, pasta, caffeine, processed and/or packaged foods, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, alcohol, hydrogenated oils, and fast foods.

These foods must be avoided because they are either toxic (artificial sweeteners) or they produce inflammation. These foods are high in omega-6 fatty acids with little to no omega-3 fatty acids. An imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids produces inflammation. The ideal ratio omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is a 1:1 ratio. (The average American has a 30:1 ratio). Therefore, eating these foods produces inflammation and perpetuates pain.

What Supplements Should you Take?

Essential Supplements Dosage
1. Multivitamin/Mineral Follow directions on bottle
2. Magnesium 6 mg per 2.2 lbs. of body weight
3. Fish Oil 1.5 grams of Omega-3 fats daily
4. Co Enzyme Q10 100 mg daily
5. Ginger  2 gram daily

Recommended Supplements
1. Vitamin D3 2000 IU daily or 30 minutes of sun exposure
2. Acetyl – L – Carnitine 1000 mg daily, in divided doses
3. Lipoic Acid 400 mg daily, in divided doses

A multivitamin provides the antioxidants and nutrients our bodies must have.
Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a role in thousands of bodily functions. Fish Oil and ginger are anti-inflammatory. Co Enzyme Q10 is involved in how we produce energy. Vitamin D stimulates the immune system. Acetyl L Carnitine and Lipoic Acid slow, or even reverse the aging process in our cells.

Smoking
Smoking decreases your oxygen intake. Adequate oxygen is essential to healing. Without it your body cannot heal completely and your brain and nervous system can not function properly. If you suffer from chronic pain and you smoke, you NEED to quit.

How Will I Feel?
If you have had a poor diet up to this point, the first 3-7 days may be rough. Most toxins are fat-soluble. That means they get stored in our fat tissue. As you give your body the proper nutrients you will start eliminating excess fat. When you eliminate fat the stored toxins are released which may lead to fatigue, headaches, mood swings, nausea, and flu like symptoms. Give your body about a week and you will begin to have more energy, your memory will improve, thinking will be clearer and your overall outlook will brighten.

If you would like to find out exactly how your diet may be affecting your pain visit the official website of  Orem Chiropractor  R. Ned McArthur, D.C. or call 801-225-1311 to schedule a complimentary office visit.

Back Pain

About 85 percent of the American population will experience disabling, low back pain at least once during their life. The problem is so bad that, at any one time, 6.8 percent of the U.S. adult population is suffering from an episode of back pain that has been going on for more than two weeks. That’s a lot of bad backs.

The estimated cost of this problem in the U.S. is over $50 billion a year.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/110767

Even uncomplicated cases of back pain can cost upwards of $8000. Care for these cases can include muscle relaxers, painkillers, rest, physical therapy & minor surgery. Costs for more complicated cases that includes fusion surgery can balloon up to $17,000. However, these approaches have not been found very helpful. Some studies suggest spinal surgeries should be performed only rarely. Many people who have had back surgery report a recurrence of their symptoms within a year or two of the operation and may return to the operating table. In some cases, the surgery makes no difference whatsoever.

The reason many surgeries don’t bring lasting results is because they don't address what back problems do to the brain.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6369047.stm

http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2004/11/chronic.html

The cerebellum is a part of the brain that controls all of your postural muscles around the spine. When it functions correctly it keeps our posture upright and our back muscles toned and flexible.

So here’s what happens . . . a person experiences one or more types of stress.

Remember, stress can be physical (injury, accident, bending/twisting) chemical (junk food, cigarette smoke, toxins) or mental (job, relationships, finances).

Stress, no matter what kind of stress, causes the release of stress hormones. If the stress is a big enough stress or goes on long enough stress hormones will reach a level where they become toxic to the cerebellum, causing it to malfunction.

When the cerebellum malfunctions you'll notice muscle tightness around the spine and your posture will be less upright (slouching).

When these muscles are in a constant state of tension joint movement is decreased. Reduced joint movement leads to decay and degeneration of the bones and discs of the spine. This is when discs bulge or herniate.

So maybe you're thinking "well, all I have to do is eliminate my stress and my pain will go away." For you that might work. For the rest of us though it's about changing how our brain and body respond to the stress.

You can keep taking your ibuprofen or other medications for back pain . . . you can keep doing your back exercises . . . you can keep getting a massage . . . you can keep doing all sorts of other things for your back pain (these are all good things and I have recommend them before), but your back pain will continue to rear it’s ugly head until the underlying problem in the cerebellum is resolved.

So the secret to eliminating chronic back pain is to correct dysfunction in the cerebellum.

Questions?

Contact me at 801-225-1311 or drned@juno.com